


Nightmares

by boazpriestly



Series: BAU Family Verse [1]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: BAU family, Gay Fathers, Gen, Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-19
Updated: 2015-01-19
Packaged: 2018-03-08 07:07:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3200072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boazpriestly/pseuds/boazpriestly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Hotch was attacked by The Reaper, Derek has nightmares of the incident.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nightmares

Derek padded his feet across the hardwood toward the kitchen, careful to keep his steps as quiet as he could. He needed water, something to help him calm down from his nightmares. Derek’s skin prickled, heart still racing as he found his way to the kitchen island and pulled himself up onto a stool. He lay his head on the cool granite of the counter and sighed. 

This was the third night in a row that Derek had woken up from a bad dream. He’d been covered in sweat. but thankfully, this time, he hadn’t peed the bed too. He was getting tired of having to explain to Spencer why he didn’t want to sleep in his own bed again. He loved his little brother, but sometimes Derek just wanted him to not ask questions all the time. 

Derek groaned a little and lifted his head. His blue cup was stuck to the fridge where Hotch made him put it before bed, but Derek was too tired to get up. He could sleep here. right at the counter if he wasn’t scared of what he’d see when he closed them. He glared at the cup. trying his hardest to make it fly over to him or something. 

"You want me to get it for you, kiddo?" 

Derek jumped and spun around. Rossi was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, watching Derek carefully.

"No," Derek said, quieter than he had meant to. "I can get it myself." 

Rossi moved from the wall and pulled Derek’s cup from the fridge anyways; he filled it with water from the sink and set it in front of Derek. “Want to talk about it?” 

Derek shook his head. The last thing he wanted to do was relive his nightmare, but he knew his dad would get it out of him anyways, so he just rested his head on his arms. “It’s nothing,” he eventually said. 

"Doesn’t look like nothing," Rossi said. He leaned forward onto the counter, crossing his fingers together, and letting Derek know that he was going to wait until Derek was ready to talk. 

Derek picked up his cup and took a drink. His stomach felt weird, tight like there was a lead ball inside of it. He wanted to go back to bed. 

"Is this about what happened to Dad?" Rossi finally asked. "Are you still worried about him getting hurt?" 

Derek bit his lip, then nodded. “I keep seeing him getting stabbed.” The image of his father sprawled out on his back as the unsub plunged a knife into his belly played over and over in Derek’s mind. 

Rossi took hold of Derek’s hand and squeezed lightly. “He’s fine now, Derek.” 

"I know, but they never found the guy who did it." Derek pulled his hand out of Rossi’s and covered his face. "The Reaper is still out there." 

Rossi stood up, walked around the counter, and sat down on the stool next to Derek. ”C’mere, kiddo.” Rossi opened his arms and Derek climbed onto his lap, letting Rossi cradle him like he used to when Derek first came to live with him and Hotch. “It’s okay to be scared, Derek.” 

"Were you scared when Dad got hurt? 

"More than you know, kiddo." Rossi went quiet for a moment, and then, "I still am sometimes." 

"Really?" 

Rossi nodded. “I had nightmares the first couple of nights too. When Dad was in the hospital and we didn’t know if he was going to make it, I was terrified that he wasn’t gonna come home. I kept dreaming that I was at his funeral.”

"Better than dreaming of him covered in blood," Derek said, 

"Is it?"

Derek didn’t know what to say to that. His nightmares were awful; they felt real and they made him want to cry every single time. Blood was worse than just a body in a casket, but dead wad dead and that was the last thing Hotch was supposed to be. 

"Look at me, Derek." Rossi turned Derek around so they were face to face. "There will always be a chance that Dad is going to get hurt on the job; it comes with the territory. And it’s okay for you to be worried about him, but if you let that worry consume you, you’re never going to see any of the good parts of what he does."

"Like when he saves people?" 

"Yeah, like when he saves people." 

Derek closed his eyes for a moment, seeing a flash of Hotch on his back with someone holding a knife over him. He shuddered. “What if the dreams never go away?” Derek asked, opening his eyes and looking at Rossi. 

"They will, eventually." Rossi brushed a hand through Derek’s hair. "But until then, do you want me to set up an appointment with your therapist? It might help to talk to someone who doesn’t know too much about Dad’s job like we all do." 

Derek thought about it for a minute. He hadn’t had to go to his therapist for a few months now, but she’d made him feel safe again after he had to testify against Carl Buford in court. Maybe she could help him again with this. “Yeah,” Derek finally said. “I think I want to talk to her.” 

"I’ll call her in the morning, then," 

Derek yawned and rubbed his eyes. “I don’t want to sleep in my room tonight,” he admitted. 

Rossi nodded and leaned forward to kiss Derek’s forehead. “There’s plenty of room in our bed, kiddo. C’mon.” Rossi picked up Derek easily, positioning him so Derek could lay his head on Rossi’s shoulder. Then he walked them down the hall and into his and Hotch’s bedroom. 

Derek could see Hotch already asleep on the bed; the scars on his stomach clearly visible from where his t-shirt had ridden up. Derek tightened his arms around Rossi. 

"Shh, shh," Rossi cooed, rubbing Derek’s back. "It’s okay, Derek. He’s okay." He set Derek down on the bed and kneeled down in front of him. "I can get the air mattress out if you need me to."

Derek looked over his shoulder at Hotch and then shook his head. He needed to be next to Hotch, needed to make sure he was really there — alive. “I can do this,” Derek said with a yawn. He turned and crawled up toward the pillows, laying down with his back to Hotch. “Are you gonna go to sleep too?”

"Yeah." Rossi said, laying down next to Derek. "I’m gonna be right here if you need me, okay? Dad too." 

"I don’t want to be scared anymore," Derek whispered as he closed his eyes. 

"You don’t have to be, kiddo. Not anymore." 

Derek yawned one last time, and then finally fell back asleep.


End file.
